Lou

  Three dragons came into the cave. In the meantime, Lou was alone with Harper, as Harper's siblings had also left. At first, Lou thought it was his Harper's parents plus another dragon, but the three quickly turned out to be Remy's dragons. They came in half-human form. Lou saw the rough outlines of their white wings as the colors of the three dragons approached him and Harper. One of the three had bck hair. Narcisse. But since Basil and Renan were both blonde, Lou couldn't tell them apart at first.

  "Lou!" Narcisse warbled happily. "We have beautiful things for you!"

  One of the other two dragons snorted in annoyance. "Beautiful?" Lou recognized Renan's voice.

  "We have ointment for your wounds! And something to wash, new bandages!" Basil quickly expined to him. "Hello, Haper! You don't have to hide Lou!"

  In fact, Harper had pulled Lou even closer to him and was now hiding him under a wing. Lou had to push aside a few feathers to see the three. And he did. Shyly, he peered out from behind the grand wing. "Thank you. You can go again!", growled Harper.

  "How rude! Impudent! Shame on you!" But contrary to his words, Narcisse ughed merrily. Then he knelt down next to Lou. He set a bowl aside and leaned close to Lou so he could see him. "Harper! Take away your wing!", the dragon demanded. He was already pushing the wing aside, skillfully ignoring Harper showing his teeth. Lou, however, did not see this. He stared into Narcisse's glowing eyes. "Lou? Look! All this is for you! In fact, there is almost all the water left in the bowl! I just spilled a bit! Splendid! And the ointment almost smells good!" The bck-haired dragon winked at him.

  "Thank you", Lou murmured, not looking at the gloriously presented gifts. He would hardly have recognized them. Just the colors. "Have you met Louise?"

  "No. Not yet. But I keep my promise. But first, your wounds need to be taken care of, yes? So that they heal well?" Narcisse smiled softly. "May I?"

  "No. It's all right." Lou nodded uneasily. He didn't want Narcisse to get so close to him, even though he liked the friendly dragon. "They’re better."

  "Very good", said Basil now. "Lou? Do you need anything else?"

  "Someone to free you from Harper's grip?", Renan suggested dryly.

  Harper hissed and covered Lou with his wings. "Thank you. You can go!", he growled.

  Lou flinched. Instinctively, he grabbed a feather and clutched it. Harper squealed. "That’s tickling!"

  Behind Harper's grand wing, Lou heard Narcisse snicker. "You deserve this, Harper! Well, well. No need to be so angry!", he said. Then he turned back to Lou. As he did so, he pushed Harper's feathers aside so he could see Lou. Harper hissed again. "Lou? Do you need help bathing? I'll help you if you want me to."

  Lou shook his head. He didn't want to bathe. He was embarrassed.

  "Do you want me to help you?", Harper asked immediately. "Vivi?" Lou shook his head again.

  "Shall we redeem you from Harper?", Renan suggested. At the same time, another dragon nded in the cave. "What's going on here? Why are you surrounding the boy?" Lou now heard the thunderous voice of Harper's father. His parents were back. Hallie also nded in the cave with a rumble. Lou heard the massive dragons shake their wings.

  "Oh! Hello, Bojan! Hello, Hallie!!", Basil greeted them. "We brought ointment. For Lou. Bandages. Bath water..."

  "Ah! Very good!", replied Hallie. "Thank you!" Her voice sounded human. Presumably, she had already changed shape. And sure enough, shortly afterward she knelt next to Narcisse in human form.

  "Lou? Is everything okay? You’re pale!"

  Nervously, Lou avoided her gaze. Narcisse sighed. "I'm afraid we're scaring him right now. Of course, it can't be my fault. I'm a very sweet, adorable dragon!" He sighed. Renan mimicked him in the background. "We should go." Then he reached out to Lou and stroked his head gently. "See you soon!"

  Lou stared at him wide-eyed. He was silent. Lou wasn't exactly scared. Well, he was scared. Always. But right now it was all a bit too much for him. Too many dragons. Too much attention. And the situation was embarrassing too. Bathing? In front of the dragons? Here? Remy's dragons left the cave. Of course, not without politely saying goodbye. Well, Renan was just grumbling something. Lou couldn't understand the words. Then he and Harper were alone with his parents. Bojan curled up a little deeper in the cave again. "Harper? We brought you two rabbits!", he shouted.

  "Thank you," Harper replied. Lou could hear his dragon friend's stomach growling.

  "Well, Lou? Do you want us to take care of your wounds?", asked Hallie.

  Lou shook his head. "No." Let me be. Go away. Go.

  "Are you embarrassed?" She smiled softly.

  Now Lou nodded. Admitting this, however, felt equally embarrassing. Go away!

  Harper ughed. "It doesn't have to. I've seen it all anyway! EVERYTHING!"

  "Harper!", his mother scolded him. Lou, on the other hand, blushed. It really wasn't good news. Hallie sighed. "Harper? You eat! I'll go to the back with Lou and help him! Hop, hop! Come on Lou. I won't look. I'll just help you with the washing and with the ointment. Yes?"

  She took Lou gently by the hand, Lou protested quietly, but let her do so, and she led him a little deeper into the cave. He followed her hesitantly. There she lit a small campfire with wood, which they now always had in the cave. Lou recoiled from the fmes. "Nothing will happen to you", Hallie assured him immediately. Harper brought them the bowl, the ointment, and the other things before devouring the rabbits at the front of the cave. His mother, on the other hand, carefully treated Lou's wounds and helped him wash his hair. But only with the water, because they didn't have any soap. But dragons were not bothered by the body odor of humans. Lou pulled his knees close and sat crouched to shield himself from her gaze. But Hallie was gentle and kept her promise.

  "I'll ask for soap for you ter! The sand and dust won't come out of your hair...", she finally murmured. "And don't you humans also have beautifully scented oils? Do you like that?"

  "I don't know", Lou replied.

  sasi